LONDON PRODUCE NOTES.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 699, 8 May 1916, Page 11

LONDON PRODUCE NOTES.

BUTTER. LONDON, March 2. Butter prices continue steadily to harden, and the Australian season is likely to close with choicest salted at ■ iabout 160/- cut. The Osterley's butter, | which arrived on the market this week, is selling steadily at 15(5/- and 1,18/- for j choicest, and as Danish is likely to be | advanced .'! kroner to-day it is probable | that Australian will fetch" quite 160/- ' next week. New Zealand butter is in more plentiful supply, but we hear by Icable that there is not much more to be shipped from the Dominion, and so prices for this butter are also very firm; | salted is selling to-day at 162/-. and .some sellers are asking 164/-. Unsalted j does not command such a large, premium lover salted as it did a few weeks ago. I but it is still several shillings more. Australian unsalted is quoted 160/- to 1(52/- for choicest, and New Zealand 166/- to 168/-. At these enormous prices it need hardly be said that there is no great rush for colonial butter, but there are certain linns which must have j best better, no matter how dear it is, land the demand from these people is j sufficient to keep prices up ami to clear the limited supplies that come on to the market. Reference was made a few weeks ago to the parcel of Queensland I butter bought by the Government of that State, shipped here in the Middlesex and Stroud, all except the unsalted. to await better prices. This butter has not been sold yet, and it appears that the Government did wisely when it stored all, except the unsalted, to await j bettering of prices next week. Present - quotations are:—Danish, 174/- to 178/-; Victorian, finest salted 156/- to 158/-, unsalted 162/-, good to fine salted 150/- to 154/-; New Zealand, finest salted 162/- to 164/-. unsalted 168/-, good to fine salted 156/- to 158/-. TINNED MEAT. In accordance with the request made by Mr Bonar Law, the Agents-General are enquiring into the recent rejections of Australian tinned meats by the War Office authorities. The}- have had under consideration the War Office specification for tinned meat, a document under which experts think it would be possible to reject any meat, however good: ! and well packed. It is understood that the Agents-General are likely to recom-1 mend that this specification be withdrawn, and a system of standards introduced. That is to say, each packer shall send to the War Office sealed standard samples of his brand, and, if the brand is accepted by the War Office, the bulk shipments shall be compared with the standard samples and passed if they are equal to it. This seems a sensible proposal, and it ought to work satisfactorily'. TINNED PEACHES.

Some very fine tinned peaches from California have recently come on the market; indeed, they may be said to be the very last word in tinned fruit. The treatment they have undergone is simple, and there seems to be no reason why Australian peaches should not be dealt with in the same way. They have been first treated with lye to remove the skin, then cut through to the stone, but not separated from it, so that the peach appears to be whole, placed in a heavy syrup, tinned, ami cooked iu the usual way. . Four large peaches of the clingstone variety are packed in each tin. Leaving the stone in the fruit improves the flavour of the peaches wonderfully, and experts say that they have never tasted any tinned fruit to equal them. These tins of peaches are selling wholeat about 20d per doxen, a price equal to*Bd per peach, so that they ought to yield tx very good profit to canners. TALLOW. „

A little more activity has been noticeable in the tallow market, but consumers have been filling their requirements [mostly with home tallow, which is obtainable at comparatively lower rates thaii the imported article, the demand for which is checked by difficulties of delivery. At the auctions yesterday 829 casks of Australasian tallow were offered, and 319 sold, at and after the sales, at practically unchanged rates. The quantity sold consisted almost entirely of better-coloured tallow, inferior sorts meeting very little demand. Present prices are as follow: — Australasian mutton, fine 54/- to 55/-, fair to good 50/- to 53/-, common to middling 46/6 to 49/-, low- and inferior 45/-to 46/-; Australasian beef, line 52/to 53/- fair to good 48/- to 51/-, common to middling 46/- to 47/-, low and inferior 44/- to 45/-; Australasian mixed, fair to good 48/- to 49/-, common to middling 45/- to 47/6. Messrs Colchester and Woollier's monthly statistics are as follow: —

1910. 1915. 1914. pkgs. pkgs. pkgs. Stock ol' tallow of all kinds in warehouse in London, Feb. 29 ♦12,215 10,665 14,421 Landed in February 4,055 0,360 8,255 Arrived ditto 3,573 10,234 • 14,18(1 Landed since Jan. 1.. 9,239 13,506 14,901 Arrived ditto 9,921 29,080 29,428 Delivered in Feb. .. 4,258 3,917 7,007 Ditto since Jan. 1 .. 11,0(52 10,753 13,022 Shipped from Australia and N.Z. in Tons. Tons. Tons-. — 6,856 7,000 Price 1 Australian mutton. Feb. 2!) .. .. 55/43/0 30/Ditto beef, ditto 52/13/6 35/*450fi ton s gross.